## Facts

- Grace and Viola Smith owned a private road on their property.
- Erin and Norma Brown owned nearby property and, for convenience, used the Smiths’ private road to travel to and from the Browns’ land.
- The Browns had no permission or legal right (such as an easement) to use the Smiths’ road.
- The Browns nevertheless crossed the road every day for about 1,670 days.
- The Smiths sued the Browns for trespass based on the repeated, unauthorized entries.
- The trial court found for the Smiths and awarded “nominal damages” of $5 per day for 1,670 days, totaling $8,350.
- The Browns appealed from the damages award and the trial court’s treatment of the repeated entries.

## Issues

1. Whether repeated, intentional, daily travel over another’s private road may be treated as separate trespasses supporting a per-day damages calculation.
2. Whether an award totaling $8,350 can properly be characterized as “nominal damages” for trespass in the absence of proof of actual, measurable loss.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the trespass finding: the Browns’ repeated entries on the Smiths’ private road, without permission or legal justification, were actionable.
- The court agreed that unauthorized entries may support an award of at least nominal damages even when the landowner proves no actual harm.
- The court held that a lump-sum award of $8,350 could not properly be labeled “nominal damages” and vacated the damages award.
- The case was remanded for the trial court to reassess damages under the correct standard (either a truly nominal sum or compensatory damages supported by evidence of actual loss).

## Legal Principles

- Trespass is an intentional (or negligent) physical invasion of another’s land without consent or other legal authorization.
- A plaintiff who proves trespass is entitled to at least nominal damages even if no actual injury is shown.
- Nominal damages serve as a small, symbolic award recognizing the violation of the right to exclusive possession; they are not a substitute for compensatory damages.
- Repeated, volitional entries occurring on separate occasions can be treated as separate trespasses for purposes of liability and damages analysis, rather than a single wrong arising from one act.
- A damages award must match the legal category the court applies: if the award is compensatory, it requires evidentiary support; if it is nominal, it must remain a minimal sum.

## Conclusion

Brown v. Smith held the Browns liable for trespass based on their daily, unauthorized use of the Smiths’ private road, confirmed that trespass supports at least nominal damages without proof of actual harm, and vacated and remanded because the trial court’s $8,350 award could not properly be treated as “nominal” damages.


Brown v. Smith, 920 A.2d 18 (2007)